15 years ago today, the PlayStation One was launched in Japan, and started a new gaming revolution. Sega had released it’s “Saturn” console already, but thanks to the PlayStation’s low price, strong line up of games, and stunning 3D graphics, it brought gaming to an older audience. It also marked the beginning of a new (and mainly successful) division for Sony.

Nintendo may have been the original, but Sony certainly holds it’s place it many gamers’ hearts. At least the PS1 wasn’t $600.

What’s your fondest memory of the PlayStation brand?

Photograph by Starr Hackwelder

Its nearly Christmas guys!  So i thought i’d add some petrol to the fire, and spur you on to play one of Konami’s least loved titles!The Grinch, released just in time for christmas 9 years ago (on the 8th to be exact) was released in conjunction with a massive Christmas movie, and just in time to get under your Christmas tree. Shamefully, things didn’t work out to well with the movie, or the game, and if you were unlucky enough to get in under your tree, Game were lucky enough to have it traded in 2 days later. Now, its been forgotten by all apart from collectors. Truth be told, if you slightly like The Grinch, you’ll like this game, If you don’t like The Grinch, then go to youtube now.. If you know The Grinch, then you’ll know these games aren’t the best, It’s a pretty average game, but definitely something to play once, at least. Konami made this game though, so that at least warrants a play? Well none the less it warrants an addition to a collection.

Your choices:

The Grinch for playstation one, my little sister really enjoyed this, and shes a tough nut to crack, so still im unsure how this game didn’t sell. The Grinch on Playstation One is the easiest of all The Grinch games to acquire, normally selling for around £5 depending on who is watching it, we all know how Konami collectors can be.

The relatively easy to find:Now this game isn’t easy to locate, it does require a bit of luck, as Ebay sometimes does fail to produce. But if you’re desperate go to Ebay, and search European Union, you’ll definitely pick a copy up. I’d also recommend this copy to all Dreamcast owners as, well its a bloody cool cover too.

These are a bit rarer…

Yep, the PC got a release too, as did the Gameboy colour, quite shocking? well its shouldn’t be. The Grinch was meant to be a massive movie at release, and i recon Konami and Universal had incredibly high hopes for it. Shame really. To get all 4 of the releases you’ve got to be lucky, as there are a few variants of the pc release, aswell as the Gameboy release proving to be almost non-existent.

After you play a version, you’ll know exactly why this game didn’t sell to well. I highly doubt this is the game Konami had in mind when making it, and looking through their releases of 2000 i can’t see a single game that could of hindered the production of The Grinch, bad on Konami’s part.So yes, this game is average at best, but don’t let that bother you, it is essential, not just for your collection but for the festive gaming sessions too!

Start feeling festive guys!

Cheers,
Retrojc

my mum didn’t get me the fame monster… sad times. so no review today. new moon review tomorrow though.

yay!

im sooooo addicted to Ugly Betty now its unreal. I need to stop watching american tv before I run out… actually, I say before I run out, but im pretty much out of them now anywho…

so i got some good news earlier. Im getting my allowence doubled after christmas… so exited. the posibilites are endless! means i can shop MOREEEEE! and still use dads amazon account. yay. i hope thats part of my inheritence… dads amazon account. its not like anyone elses uses it more than me. IVE EARNED IT!

its kinda worrying me how close me and my dear, dear mother are at the moment. it seems like its been forever since we argued. we’re even planning to get out the ps1 and play through all the old tomb raiders together. im actually sooooo exited. but realy scared. we’re due an argument. and its been so long. their will probably be murder…

wow it reminds me of the daysss…. i remember when my mum got her first pc and i was like… i dont know… four., and I used to sit with my mum and play tomb raider. yeah, that probably makes her the worst parent of all time! but i disagree. i think it made me the person I am today, and it probably one of my clearest happy memories… and then tomb raider two was around the time my dad came out of hospital, so thats more happy memories.

Im glad my mum was such a bad parents. it technically, in my eyes, made her the best parent EVER! thanks mum! much appreciated!

I get so annoyed with political correctness and protecting children from the horrors that can be found in fairytales. who cares if the big bad wolf is terrifying, and who cares if its baa baa black sheep. does it make it any less offensive its its baa baa rainbow sheep? isnt that just plain in your face homaphobia? or maybe its encouraging kids to be gay?

kids arn’t stupid. they know whats right and whats wrong. if its so wrong to expose children to fairytales, then why on earth do we think its fine to expose them to the monster we call The Night Garden. now, im not being funny, but the things in that absolutely terrify me! id rather be locked in a room with a clown than in a room with them.

And tellytubbies. im sorry, but that was just plane WRONG! how DARE they allow names such as Tinky Winky (little penis) Dipsy (stupid blonde girl) lala (CRAZYYYYY BITCH) Po (Shit) on the screens. for fucks sake they didnt even speak english… hell, they didnt speak. period.

I dont think that me reading stories like Little Red Riding Hood or Enid Blyton’s The Magical Far Away Tree ever effected me. wait. no. take it back. bible bashers will blatently blame my exposure to these sins as the reason for my homosexuality. OH FORGIVE ME FATHER for being ME!

I don’t care. if they’re whats made me such a sin, then fine, I’m glad. I’m happy and proud to be the person I am, and I wouldnt want it any other way!

If anything I think its a sin that the people who are banning and changing these fairytales and other classics are the people who were never exposed to them in the first place. they seriously DON’T know what theyre missing. losers.

its not our fault they were born to competent parents. forgive us for our parents failiure. its not our fault they didnt know the demons hiding behind the pages of Fairytales and the words of Nursary Rhymes. they didnt know the poison Roald Dahl or Enid Blyton wrote.

shame on them!

This little beauty finally came through my door…

Will hopefully give this a playthough over the festive period, but can’t promise anything. I also got the Stratergy guide for it too, so maybe just maybe this game has better odds of getting a playthough than any other recntly bought title.

Easy Backup Wizard is extremely user friendly, which is why i like it so much and am recommending it to you.  You do not need to be computer savvy, the software is really simple to use.

How does Easy backup wizard work you may ask?

The product creates a backup copy of a game of your choice.  What that essentially means is that it creates an identical version or copy of your chosen game.  Video and audio quality is superbly maintained when copying each game which pleasantly surprised me.  Even though it did take slightly longer to create a copy than what was said on their website I still managed to create my copy in around 10 minutes!

This is why I grew to like the product more than any of its competitors.  The software was beyond my expectations, creating outstanding good quality games.

I highly recommend you check their site out and never be worried about your scratched or damaged games.

If your interested – Here is their site

Thanks again, Barry

Heute kommen wir endlich mal dazu, eine schon lange geplante Rubrik zu eröffnen; den sogenannten Soundtrack Check. Wie der Name schon vermuten lässt, handelt es sich hierbei um die Vorstellung von den, extra für die jeweiligen Spiele angefertigten, Tonträgern. Die Musik hat mittlerweile einen hohen Stellenwert in der Entwicklung von Videospielen. Häufig schafft es der Soundtrack die allgemeine Atmosphäre der virtuellen Welt wiederzugeben und den Spieler somit besser eintauchen zu lassen. Ein Aspekt also, der auf unserem Blog nicht fehlen darf und durch das Inspizieren von Original SoundTracks (kurz: OSTs) wollen wir dieser Wirkung auf den Grund gehen.

Den Anfang macht der Soundtrack zu Chocobo Racing, ein Rennspiel, das 1999 für die Playstation 1 erschienen ist. Der Titel verrät, dass es sich hierbei um einen Racer von Squaresoft (Square Co.) handelt, indem viele Charaktere aus dem Final Fantasy-Universum zum Einsatz kommen. Die gleiche Methodik hat man auch beim Gestalten des Soundtracks gewählt. Der Komponist, Kenji Ito, hat sich bei 29 von den 30 Tracks an der Vorarbeit von Nobuo Uematsu bedient und sie etwas aufgepeppt bzw. für das Spiel passender gestaltet. Nobuo Uematsu selbst komponierte bisher fast alle Soundtracks der Final Fantasy-Reihe und ist eine wahre Berühmtheit, was Videospielmusik angeht. Die Strukturierung und Titelzahl beim Chocobo Racing OST gestaltet sich für Rennspiele sehr typisch. Es gibt für jeden Charakter ein Thema und noch ein weiteres für die jeweilige Strecke derer. Übrig bleiben das Opening-, sowie Ending-Theme und natürlich die üblichen Songs wie beispielsweise der Sieges- und Niederlagen-Jingle.

Jedoch ist ein Rennspiel-Soundtrack nicht gleich gut, nur weil man dem Standard folgt. Die Lieder müssen zu den Figuren passen und auch während des Rennens muss die Musik den Charme des Levels vermitteln ohne dabei nervtötend zu wirken. Ich für meinen Teil kann sagen, dass dies bei vorliegendem Beispiel absolut der Fall ist. Das könnte allerdings nicht zuletzt am hervorragendem Ausgangsmaterial liegen, welches Kenji Ito zur Verfügung stand.

Passionierten Final Fantasy-Spielern wird daher wohl sofort die Ähnlichkeit zu den Ursprungstiteln auffallen. So ist zum Beispiel aus dem Song Ancient Castle des zweiten Teils der Serie in diesem OST Golem’s Theme (#7) geworden. Genau genommen wurden vom ersten bis zum sechsten Final Fantasy-Teil gleichermaßen Titel verwendet und neu aufgelegt. Hinzu kommt der Titel FF8 Circuit (#26), welcher zuvor auf dem gleichnamigen FF-Teil noch Don’t Be Afraid hieß. Zur Verdeutlichung der Unterschiede bietet es sich an die zwei Versionen des Liedes an dieser Stelle mal zu vergleichen:

Hier, bei der FF8-Version wurde viel Wert auf ausdrucksstarke Musik gelegt. Das Lied weist orchestrale Elemente auf und wirkt somit sehr episch. Mit der Zusammenwirkung der verhältnismäßig langsamen Geschwindigkeit passt es auch perfekt zu einem Kampf-Thema, was dieser Song zweifelsohne ist. Im Gegensatz dazu steht die Interpretation von Chocobo Racing – man weiß schon nach den ersten Sekunden, dass hier viel mehr Nervenkitzel und Aufregung erzeugt werden soll. Durch die Erweiterung um ein paar Töne kommt wesentlich mehr Tempo in das Stück, was das Fahren auf der Strecke gleichermaßen unterstützen wie erschweren soll. Zudem ist dem Lied eine leichte Techno-Verwandtschaft zu unterstellen, welche den Spieler insofern beeinflusst, dass sich bei ihm unterbewusst Hektik und Aufmerksamkeit erhöhen. Es liegt also auch hier ein unglaublich passendes Stück vor (und ich kann euch versichern, die Strecke hat’s in sich), obwohl es sich um ein völlig anderes Videospielgenre handelt. Man könnte sagen: Ein Song – zwei Versionen – zwei Spiele – zwei Anwendungsorte – zwei Meisterwerke.

Allgemein ist der Soundtrack einem schnellen Musikstil zuzuordnen, weshalb der Vergleich zum Techno gar nicht weit gefehlt ist. Vor allem die musikalische Untermalung während der Rennen wurde in dieser temporeichen Art und Weise gestaltet, was wohl auf den bereits angesprochenen Effekt der Aufmerksamkeitssteigerung zurückzuführen ist. Die Charakter-Themen weisen hingen eine etwas gemäßigte Geschwindigkeit auf und spiegeln das Auftreten der Figuren den Vorstellungen entsprechend wider. So ist das Black Mage’s Theme (#10) beispielsweise sehr schaurig und vermittelt einen düsteren Eindruck. Die Grundstimmung ist hauptsächlich gedämpft und zurückhaltend, was sich durch tiefe Klänge äußert. Zwischendurch werden aufschreckend Akzente mithilfe von Höhen Tönen gesetzt – man fühlt sich also insgesamt so, als würde man durch das leere Schloss eines schwarzen Magiers wandeln und hinter jeder Ecke könnte eine Gefahr lauern.

Eine weitere Auffälligkeit des OST’ ist die Verwandtschaft zwischen den Figuren-Songs und den Liedern der dazugehörigen Strecken. Bleiben wir doch einmal beim Black Mage. Das Stück für seine Strecke trägt passender Weise den Namen House of Black (#21). Hierbei handelt es sich um eine zunächst, wie bereits erwähnt, schnellere Melodie. Zwar wurden die dumpfen, tiefen Töne aus dem Charakter-Thema beibehalten, jedoch ist das Drumherum wesentlich detailreicher und actiongeladener – es schuhuhen Geister und zusätzlich kommen leicht bizarre Tonabfolgen zum Einsatz, die womöglich die magische Aura des geheimnisvollen Ortes wiedergeben sollen. Beim Soundtrack wurde also in zweierlei Maß auf eine perfekte Abstimmung geachtet: Die Songs passen sowohl zur jeweiligen Figur bzw. Strecke, harmonieren aber dennoch auch miteinander und sorgen somit immer wieder für eine ideale Atmosphäre.

Zum Schluss möchte ich noch auf den letzten Song eingehen, denn das ist der einzig wirklich neue auf dem Album. Dieses Lied ist in vielerlei Hinsicht besonders. Da es sich über die komplette Dauer der Credits erstreckt, kommt der Titel auf eine Länge von stolzen 6 Minuten und 15 Sekunden – dass bei dieser Zeitspanne keine hibbelige Techno-Musik verwendet wird, sollte daher selbstverständlich sein. Genau das Gegenteil ist der Fall: man hat hier auf die orchestrale Unterstützung von Shiro Hamaguchi gesetzt. Der Name mag dem Durchschnitts-Deutschen wohl weniger bekannt sein, aber wer leidenschaftlich gerne Animes schaut, hat zumindest schon öfter etwas von ihm gehört. So ist z.B. die musikalische Begleitung von One Piece oder Ah! My Goddess ihm zu verdanken, auch für Square hat er schon viel fabriziert. Hiromi Ohta verleiht seiner Instrumentation eine hohe, klare Stimme, was das Stück insgesamt zu einer gefühlvollen Ballade macht – man ist beim Hören jedes Mal auf’s Neue traurig über das Beenden des Spiels. Leider muss ich auch euch nun mit dem Lied traurig stimmen, denn unser erster Soundtrack Check nimmt an dieser Stelle ein Ende. Wie er vielleicht schon bemerkt habt, ist die komplette Scheibe auf YouTube vorzufinden, also hört doch einfach mal selbst rein und erfreut euch an etwas Nostalgie.

After listing my favorite films of the decade, I began cutting down my favorite video games of the decade. Unlike many who will make a similar list, I am not a hardcore gamer by any stretch of the imagination. I’m that happy medium in between completely casual and hopelessly hooked, so don’t expect a knowledgeable list; just a countdown from a guy who, when it comes to video games, is the definition of individualistically-mainstream.

Debauchery? In my Nintendo 64s?

10. Conker’s Bad Fur Day (2001)

Comedic video games don’t get much better than this. Completely tasteless (but in that good sort of way), Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a helluva foulmouthed platformer that has only gotten better with age. Each time I return to this game I find yet another joke, another film-reference, another visual gag to appreciate.

I'm a consumer whore... but with these Soaps I can gring extra fast.

9. Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)

Not my favorite Sonic game, but the last in its vein that I can call great. Sonic has always been about pure, unadulterated speed. And the Sonic/Shadow levels have more than enough of that to appease any level-headed Sonic fan. While not as refined or as full an experience as the first Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 is the last of the great main-console-series Sonic games… even if Sonic was whored out for those ridiculous Soap Shoes…

Because rolling random shit into a giant ball is fun... no really, it is.

8. Katamari Damacy (2004)

I’m a sucker for the oddball. And Katamari Damacy is one of the most eccentric games one can find. Simple, irreverent, and downright fun. The definition of a pick-up-and-play game. Sometimes a bit too silly for it’s own good, but in the end a rewarding experience. A game that you walk away from with a goofy-ass smile on your face. You have no idea what just happened, but you liked it.

Am I the only one who, after playing Sunshine for a long time, tries to use FLUDD in 64 or Galaxy?

7. Super Mario Sunshine (2002)

Lauded as a fantastic addition to the Mario franchise at release, and now looked upon as the black-sheep of the series, Sunshine is game that is criminally underrated in today’s gaming world. It didn’t capture the magic that Super Mario 64 had, but no forthcoming Mario game ever will. Sunshine holds it’s own in all facets of a good Mario game. I would have loved to see a few more FLUDDless, pure-platforming levels, though.

6. Killer 7 (2005)

I’m also a sucker for artistic ambition. Killer 7 is beautiful in that gruesome, Quentin Tarantino sort of way. As a first-person-shooter, it’s standard fare. But that is more than made up for with its unique, stylized, artful way of brutally killing people.

PLUMBERS. IN. SPACE.

5. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

When the Mario franchise made its inevitable jump to the Wii, I was apprehensive; Will they shoehorn the new peripherals of the system into the game? Will they use them too sparingly? Fortunately, my concern was unfounded. While a bit awkward getting used to, Mario is a breeze to control. The planetary environment is the most visually appealing of any Mario game to date, and though it isn’t terribly difficult, that isn’t what Mario is about; he’s about jumping, and Galaxy certainly isn’t lacking in that area.

Violence and theatrics... makes for one fun game.

4. WWF No Mercy (2000)

Now this… this is when pro-wrestling was the shit. Edgy, brutal and pissed off, the WWF (oh.. I’m sorry… WWE) used to be testosterone-fueled genius. AndWWF No Mercy is a fantastic representation of that. One of the easiest wrestling games to get a handle of, with simple controls and surprisingly fluid animation. But a good wrestling game comes down to this; is it fun to beat the hell out of your opponent? The answer; a resounding yes.

We came from the mind of Tim Schafer, therefore we are awesome

3. Psychonauts (2005)

You know how I was talking about how I dig oddball? And then how I dig artistic ambition? Psychonauts has both in spades. And a wicked sense of humor to boot. Oh, and it is kick-ass platformer as well. You want proof that modern video games don’t have to be gritty, serious business? Check out Psychonauts.

Who the fuck needs crystal meth when you can have this?

2. Pokemon Gold/Silver (2000)

Pokemon doesn’t get any better than this. Gold/Silver is what a good sequel should be. It expands on what its predecessor accomplished, while not drastically changing the successful formula. Gold/Silver goes beyond the call of duty, though; it supersedes Red/Blue, and is an all-around better game. Does it replicate the charm of the originals? No. But it refined the deceptively deep RPG series’ mechanics to the point of perfection, and the series has since regressed a bit, leaving Silver/Gold as the best of the indefinite line of Pokegames.

The THPS series was the rebel against classification. The magic was destined to fade, though, as the series has quickly sank into mediocrity.

1. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (2000)

Probably not what you were expecting, huh? My favorite installment of the once prosperous series, THPS2 expanded on the surprise smash-hit of 1999, the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but didn’t try to fix what wasn’t broken (something future installments, namely Underground 2 forward, were guilty of). The simple, intuitive controls, tongue-in-cheek exaggeration of realism, and fluid animation all make this game a joy to play. And the soundtrack; THPS-THPS3 have the best in gaming history, bar none, end of story. With perfect mixtures of Punk, Metal, Alternative Hip-Hop, among others, the THPS series introduced me to countless bands. I can honestly attribute a good chuck of where my taste in music is now to this series. Some of the bands featured on THPS2 alone; Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion, Naughty by Nature, Fu Manchu, Dub Pistols, and the list goes on. Throw in the then-new create-a-skater, park-editor, and a slew of new moves and you have my favorite game of the decade.

———————————————————————————————————

There you have it. My ten favorite games of the decade. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am below… I can take a verbal (well, written) beat-down with the best of ‘em.

-YeOldeJacob

This week, i got a copy of Darkstalkers 3 through the post, because of that, this little baby gets babe of the week:

You know, she alone is a good enough reason to play Darkstalkers, shes a cute lil anime piece of fit. Shes got some pretty okay moves on her too. If you do find her overly attractive, go to google and type in her name Morrigan Aenslend.

Oh and she is a vamipre, i think.

Retrojc out.

Sony ilk Playstation’ı  1994 yılında üretmiştir.İlk playstation’ın üretilmesinin nedeni Nintendo’dur diyebiliriz.Nintendo,1994 yılında Sony’e sipariş olarak verdiği cd-romları almayarak kendi rakibini yarattı diyebiliriz.Sony,nintendonun siparişini iptal etmesinin üzerine,elindeki cd-romları geliştirerek Playstation’ı yarattı.

İlk playstation , müzik cdsi çalma ve playstation oyunları oynama dışında bir özelliği barındırmıyordu.Playstation birin oyun görüntüsüne örnek vermek gerekirse tıklayın.

1997 yılına gelindiğinde,Sony sadece Kuzey Amerikada 4 milyon’un üzerinde konsol satışı yapmıştı.Şirket bunun ile birlikte Oyun ve Aksesuar satışıyla oyun pazarındaki yerini büyütmeye devam etti.

Playstation 2′nin yapımı 1999 yılında duyuruldu.2000 yılında da  tüm dünyada satışa sunuldu.127 milyonun üstünde satış yaparak,beklenen rakamın çok üzerinde bir başarı gösterdi.
Playstation 2′yi,birden ayıran özellikler ise ; Dvd film izlenebilmesi,çoklu oyuncu desteği,internete bağlanabilme,dolby dijital ses sistemi desteği.
Ve 2004 yılının sonu,Sony playstation 2 ile aynı teknolojiye sahip taşınabilir oyun konsolunu çıkardı.Sony,alınmayan cd-romların öfkesini nintendo’dan bir daha çıkartıcaktı.Playstation portable’da playstation 2′de olduğu gibi önce fat haliyle sonra slim sürümüyle piyasadaki yerini aldı.
Son olarak Playsation 3 ile bir çoğumuzun saatlerini çalmaya devam ediyor Sony…
Görsel: http://demircanizm.deviantart.com/ ‘ dan alınmıştır

Ok guys, this is it my Top 5 most desireable consoles, a few of these you’ll know of, im hoping a couple you won’t – but you’re all knowledgeable gamers, so hopefully you’ll just enjoy the read!

Number 5

The net Yaroze system for the Playstation one, i foolishly sold mine for £400 not to long back, and now a mint PAL boxed complete set is going to knock me back £500, so its not something i am going to buy anytime soon. I do believe though that it is a possibility within the next few years. Its one of those consoles i want, being a ps1 collector an’ all, but i can’t justify buying it yet. As id equally like to buy a few other lesser known ps1 consoles, but don’t want to announce them, as they’re pretty much unknown, and i may be wrong.

Number 4

PC Engine LT, we all know this one, its basically the holy grail of the PC Engine, commanding prices for £600+ its one for the serious gamer/collector. Games are a big factor for me, and luckily the PC Engine has some great games for it, especially the Jap imports. I still hear rumors of these costing under£100 in japan, so people are making good profit on these… that slightly puts me of buying one. But i deffinetly want one.

Number 3:

Red Jap PS2, i know its a modern console, but still i want one, they’re beautiful. Japan has alwas been the center of gaming for me (and the world), and i’ve always loved their gaming artwork, or variants to our releases – a good reason to spend a few hundred, right?  There are also many games i would much prefer to own in Jap, rather than pal, ie the shumps/fighters. In truth i know nothing about Jap PS2 games, but that will change, as one of these is on its way to me real soon.

Number 2

Red Sharp Twin Famicom, Now i want this, i want this bad. I’ve got a thing for red consoles, as you can probably already tell. I’m still incredibly unsire as to whether i am going to buy one or not though. The reason being the games are slightly expensive/out of reach. I only want around 20 games, and that works out well over £600 just for 20 games, plus £200 for console; its alot. Truth is, i’ll probably only play Splatter house and bubble bobble 2, as any real gamer knows that they’re both is an incredible games, i secretly know i won’t ever really play them. For the same price as this lot i can get hold of the “Blockbuster World video game Championships II cartridge” which has an equally obismal amount of playlife, but still radical to own – and super rare.

Number 1

A PAL SNK NEO GEO – Why? Why not just settle with a cheaper jap console? its simple, i want a PAL one. Always have, always will. I can expect a good £1000 to fly out of my bank account to get one along with a couple average games for the system, but do i care? Do i f***. The great thing about the SNK is it is region free, i can play any SNK NEO GEO game from around the world and it will play it, better still it will show the language of the game as english, so if i play a Jap game on a PAL machine, it’ll be as if im playing an English game, sweet. I’ve been after a PAL NEO GEO for sometimes, and for a long time i’d settled with a Jap one (i do love japanese gaming), but i’m a British gamer, this console is the most coverted console of all time, Pal editions do occassionaly come up for sale… I know Its time i best start saving.

Honourable mentions:

Thats right, there are plenty of other consoles out there that i want, but the 5 above just slightly beat them.

Luckily for my wallet im content with the standard Pal Dreamcast, but i’d love either of these rare Jap Variants.

Resident evil code veronica dreamcast box set, and the Hello Kitty Dreamcast Box set,I really will buy the Hello Kitty Dreamcast for the misses one day. click for bigger images!

Amstrad Mega Pc, where have you been all of my life?

Give it a click to read the specs.

Fm Towns Marty, another that i regret selling, mainly because i love Splatterhouse, and the orignal was on this sytem, funnily enough now to buy a copy of splatterhouse for less than £100 is an absolute bargain.

Pioneer Laseractive, wow, what is a laserdisc? Actually who cares? This console gets slated but i would love it, i love weird stuff, and this little bad boy had add ons to play megadrive and TG-16 games. Raddd.

Aiwa Sega CD, now sega did release some crap in the 90’s, this being at the top of the pile, still would love to own one though. Nearly made the number 5 spot too.

Also Type into Google: Wondermega, Atari Jaguar, and 3DO im sure you’ll also find them interesting.

Hope you enjoyed the post, im now off to the bank haha.
Retrojc out.

Bushido blade was a 3D fighting game developed by Lightweight (kengo series) and published by Squaresoft ( now Square enix). it was released in america on September 30th 1997. Bushido blade was a armed combat game which utilized a realistic fighting engine which was innovative and unique at the time of its release. Absent from the game was Life bars and a time limit. In Bushido Blade most hits will cause instant death or would cripple a opponent. Crippling a opponent would cause various changes to the battle itself. For example, severly damaging your opponents legs will take away a great amount of their mobility and they will be forced to crawl or roll around on the ground.
Exploration was also encouraged during the game. rather than a small arena, Players were given a huge castle to venture through while fending of enemys.Characters in Bushido Blade also have the ability to run, jump, and climb within the 3D environments. The game possessed a small but great roster of characters. Each character had their own strengths and weaknesses. Bushido blade features eight weapons to choose from in many of its modes , including Katana, rapier,nodachi,long sword , sledgehammer, naginata ,saber, and the broadsword. Each weapon posseses its own set of realistic statistics which greatly effect how proficient a character will be with the weapon. Example, Kannuki is the most powerful character and can easily wield any weapon, but will not be able to do the more speedy and acrobatic moves that weaker and speedier characters can do. Lastly and by far one of the most interesting features is the game uses the ancient code of Bushido. The code of Bushido was a set of rules in the game. If any of this rules were broken during the story mode the game would come to a abrupt end and force you to start over.

Story: within a hidden dojo known as the Meikyokan lies a secret society of Assasins known as “Kage” .Once led by the honorable swordsman Utsusemi, he lost his position to Hanzaki, another skilled member of the dojo, in a fierce battle. Hanzaki gained respect as the Kage leader, until he discovered a cursed sword known as Yugiri. He began to change, disregarding the groups honor and the traditions held by its students.One day, a Kage escapes the confines of the dojo with its secrets. as the Rogue Kage , you escape to Yin Yang castle where you must due battle with your pursuers and somehow successfully escape the castle.

Personal thoughts: Bushido was definitely a one of a kind game. I remember the first time i played through story mode and attacked my first opponent while they were talking to me. suddenly a message pops up scolding me for my actions which was then followed by the main menu. “WTF!” was my first reaction, but over time i learned to appreciate such a interesting method of forcing the player to obey the rules and fight honorably (only if spammers in fighting games today could be punished in a similiar manner) . Another interesting twist to the game that i love was the battle against Schuvaltz Katze a hitman hired by the main boss. This battle required some clever tactics as Katze uses a gun rather than a melee weapon. I know the last thing you would expect in a Game Called Bushido Blade is to be shot. Most people who face katze the first time were caught off gaurd by this and rushed him as soon as they saw the gun, only to be shot dead without getting anywhere near him. Overall, I think this game is worth hunting down and playing. It was a truly unique experiance that has yet to be replicated by any other fighting game.

Wer in den späten 90ern bereits begeisterter Videospielezocker und Fan von Sonys PSX war, der wird sich noch an den kommerziellen Playstation Emulator bleem! und die vielen Kontroversen die ihn umgeben haben erinnern. Der Hintergrund: dadurch, dass nun plötzlich Sonys Spiele außerhalb von Sonys Hardware laufen konnte bestand nun keine Notwendigkeit mehr sich eine Playstation zu kaufen, was für Sony natürlich ein riesiges Verlustgeschäft bedeutet hätte.

Die Geschichte von bleem! beginnt im März 1999, mit dem Release der ersten Version. Und sie schlug ein wie eine Bombe. bleem! hatte nämlich den heutigen Emulatoren einiges voraus. Es war der erste Emulator, der praktisch mit der echten Konsole “konkurrierte” und dazu noch einer der wenigen, der öffentlich dafür warb und im Laden gekauft werden konnte. bleem! hatte zwei Versionen, einmal die normale, die auf PCs lief, und bleemcast!, welches euch ermöglichte, PSX Spiele auf der Dreamcast von Sega zu zocken.

Die Technik hinter bleem! war dabei durchaus beeindruckend, vor allem im PC Sektor. Man brauchte keine Mördermaschine, denn teilweise lieferten sogar Low-End PCs erstaunlich hohe Frameraten für die PSX Spiele. Verantwortlich dafür ist die Programmiersprache assembly, die es den anfangs gerade mal zwei Mitarbeitern der Firma bleem! ermöglichte, den Code perfekt zu optimieren. Und wer doch einen Rechner der oberen Klasse sein Eigen nennen durfte, der konnte mithilfe des Emulators sogar die Grafik der Spiele aufpeppen, indem er höhere Auflösungen als auf der PSX möglich aktivierte oder bessere Texturfilter einschaltete.

Die Kehrseite der Medaille ist jedoch, die Spiele überhaupt erst einmal fehlerfrei zum laufen zu bekommen. Denn während heutige Emulatoren eine sehr hohe Kompatibilitätsrate erreicht haben, kämpfte bleem! mit Bugs, Grafikfehlern und dergleichen. Sogar bleems! eigene Kompatibilitätsliste konnte lediglich ein einziges bugfreies Spiel aufweisen: One. Das heißt aber nicht, dass kein Spiel vernünftig lief, die meisten konnten Problemlos von Anfang bis Ende durchgezockt werden, kleinere Fehler musstet ihr dafür aber in Kauf nehmen. Das sorgte dafür, dass sogar freeware Emulatoren, die es bereits vor bleem! gab, teilweise eine höhere Kompatibilität hatten. Ein weiteres Problem: wer Windows NT basierte Betriebssysteme hatte (dazu gehört auch Windows 2000), guckte in die Röhre. bleem! wurde nämlich vollends für Windows 98 entwickelt, dem damals wichtigsten Betriebssystem für Computerspieler.

Klingt ja alles schön und gut. Doch wie bereits am Anfang dieses Artikels erwähnt stellte der Emulator für Sony eine erhebliche Gefahr da. Und so ist es wenig überraschend, dass, kaum konnten die ersten Versionen des Emulators bestellt werden, Sony seine Anwälte einschaltete. Denn wer will sich noch eine Playstation kaufen, wenn das ganze auch auf Dreamcast und PC funktioniert? Das Verbot das Emulators war eigentlich nur noch Formsache, konnte sich doch keiner vorstellen dass bleem! einfach so davonkommen würde. Doch falsch gedacht! Am Ende verlor Sony in sämtlichen Anklagepunkten, sogar was die Verwendung von PSX Spielescreenshots auf der bleem! Verpackung angeht. David hatte tatsächlich gegen Goliath gewonnen, konnte man meinen.

Doch trotz der Erfolge vor Gericht zwangen die Kosten dafür die Firma letztendlich doch in die Knie. Ende 2001 gingen bei bleem! die Lichter aus. Doch trotzdem hat bleem! vielen gezeigt, dass auch Emulatoren eine Daseinsberechtigung haben. Viele Hobby Programmierer haben sich seit dem Ende von bleem! an die Arbeit gemacht, einen noch besseren, schnelleren und stabileren Emulator auf die Beine zu stellen. Und nebenbei sollte man auch erwähnen, dass die Emulatoren an sich völlig legal sind. Erst wenn man sie in Verbindung mit illegal heruntergeladenen Spielen benutzt begibt man sich auf dünnes Eis. Übrigens, um den Kreis zu schließen: ein paar ehemalige bleem! Mitarbeiter sind heute bei Sony beschäftigt wo sie sich, natürlich, um die Portierung alter Sony Spiele für die neue Generation der Playstation kümmern. Feine Sache!

It’s been nearly a month since my last post. Ha, this is a habit I need not get into. Well let me get back into the swing of things with a short post.

Horror movies have never been my choice of flicks to watch, much less horror video games. You can thank Resident Evil 2 for that. I recall playing RE2 when I was a kid and walking into a dark room (for some reason I saw it fit to have the volume on full blast), when all of a sudden I heard a large mutated dog jump through and shatter the glass and attack me. Perhaps the scare was largely due in part to the volume being so loud, but ever since I haven’t touched a “horror” video game, until now.

Utilizing the power of the PSP to take me back in time, I gave the original PS1 Silent Hill a go. I am merely about 2 hours in, but I can already tell this is a wonderfully crafted game. Maneuvering Harry Mason, the lead character, can get a little tricky at times but it doesn’t take away from the experience.

Is the game scary? It may be a little too early to tell, but it does sure do a good job of keeping the player in suspense. The foggy areas are a little easier to get through, but the darker, grittier areas are chalk full of intensity.

All in all, as far as I can tell it is a great game that plays through more like a horror movie, than a game.

During my blast to the past, I also revisited an old favorite. WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role for the Playstation. This game had all the greats, before the eventual brand split, and before the WWF became WWE and before it became almost unbearable to watch.

O P.S.1 inaugura a temporada de outono com três novas exposições:

Robert Bergman: Selcted Portraits: 24 retratos de pessoas comuns em tamanho natural fotografados pelo artista durante suas viagens pelos Estados Unidos.

1969: A arte produzida no ano marcado por revoluções e tumultos sócio-políticos.

Between Spaces: 11 artistas  transforman objetos banais em obras de arte.

Confira o vídeo.

Dear Gaming Gods please can we have………

Over the years (Too many now, unfortunately.) since we have been gaming we have seen many great games come and go. Whether it was a game that never got a sequel, or in some cases, a sequel that never lived up to the original or a franchise that deserves to be raised from the ashes of gaming history with a full re-boot.

It seems that the movie industry is keen to breathe new life into long dead franchises so why not games? Here is our run-down of the G4A wish list.

Elite!

Yes we know! Every games journalist worth their salt, or at least those old enough to remember this classic, have been hankering for a return of the space based trading classic. Originally created for the BBC Micro by programming team David Braben and Ian Bell Elite took the gaming world by storm.

With it’s open-ended gameplay and a massive 8 galaxies featuring 256 planets, Elite to this day remains a shinning example of what can be achieved with innovative programming.

Elite’s influence has rippled through the gaming galaxy ever since with a multitude of games borrowing the concept and trying to create that ‘Elite-type’ experience. Non have really managed to recreate the original though.

Elite has had two official sequels, Frontier and Frontier: First Encounters, both of which were full of bugs and never captured the feeling of the original or the imagination of the audience.

The good news is that Braben’s development studio ‘Frontier Developments’ have had an official sequel ‘Elite 4′ in the pipeline since 1998. The latest news is that the studio will begin full-scale work once their title ‘The Outsider’ is released. I am going to try to get some more information from the studio if I can – watch this space!

Destruction Derby

One of the PS1’s launch titles (Also launched on Sega Saturn and PC) Psygnosis’ Destruction Derby was a joyful jaunt of a driving game whereby you got to smash the crap out of your opponents cars.

Developed by Reflections, who later went on to write the driver series, this smash and crash title was one of the first to show what this new generation of arcade quality home gaming consoles were really capable of.

Its 3D graphics and unique gameplay model made Destruction Derby an instant classic. Despite a wave of sequels none of the following titles lived up to the originals, simple gameplay mechanics and course design. Recently there have been a few attempts at a similar theme, most notably Begbear Entertainments Flatout series.

The original Destruction Derby is available for download for PS3 and PSP.

The Last Ninja

One of, if not the biggest titles on the C64 was System 3’s The Last Ninja. An isometric fighting puzzler that redefined what people would come to expect from fighting games.

Blending gameplay styles of puzzles, platform and fighting games, The Last Ninja was a massive hit winning tons of awards and critical acclaim. The game itself spawned 3 sequels, Last Ninja’s 2 &  3 as well as The last Ninja: Remix.

The Last Ninja 2 came in a box with a mask, scroll and a rubber shuriken, that was hard enough to stick in my bedroom door. Nice!

In the  late 90’s rumours and screen shots of a fully fledged update of The Last Ninja series began to arise, and in 2003 we saw screen shots of the first level of The Last Ninja: The Return. Scheduled for a 2004 release the game even previewed at E3 yet was cancelled due to being “Simply not good enough” according to System 3 CEO Mark Cale. Heaven forbid they should just try to make it good eh?

MechAssault

The original MechAssault introduced me to the wonders of online play. A team based tear up in giant robots that systematically destroy entire cityscapes as the game unfolds.

Produced by Day 1 Studios and released by Microsoft on the original Xbox. MechAssualt’s single player game was, at best not much better than average but online the game blossomed into, in many peoples opinion, one of the best to date. The game really was one of the reasons that Xbox Live truly took off featuring some of the best pyrotechnics of any game up to that point.

A sequel MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf came a couple of years later and added the ability to leave your Mech and run around on foot. As with many such sequels the developers tried to shoehorn in too many new ideas without truly understanding their audience.

What we all wanted was an updated and polished version of the first game, with better graphics and new Mechs. It is what we still want! Forget leaving the mech when it is exploding, all we want are massive multi-player arenas with destructible buildings and giant Mechs that pack enough firepower to down the deathstar!

Imagine MechAssault rebooted for the Xbox 360? A stripped down game that looks great and allows us to kick shiny metal ass all day long!

Shenmue

It is as predictable as the sun coming up, but love it or hate it Shenmue was always going to be in this list.

Developed by Sega-AM2 and produced and directed by the legendary Yu Suzuki Shenmue was the first killer app for Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast.

You follow the life of a young Ryo Hazuki who is out on a mission of vengeance for Lan Di the man who killed his father. The game centres around you having to talk to people, learn Martial Arts, fight and also get jobs to obtain money.

Shenmue’s open world was unlike anything seen before and was a truly immersive experience. Despite the game obtaining a massive cult following and a sequel that appeared towards the end of the Dreamcasts  life (Later it made the jump to the Xbox.) The decision was made to end the series on a rather annoying cliffhanger after the second game.

We all want to know how the story finished and we would dearly love to see Shenmue 3 on one of the Next Gen consoles. If it was packaged with the first two games so new-comers could pick up the story I still believe it would see by the bucket-load, come on Sega, “Do you know anywhere where I might find some sailors?”

Cannon Fodder

Sensible software were once the best developers working in the industry, according to us anyway. we thought long and hard about which games of theirs we would like to see back and whilst a full update of Sensible World Of Soccer would be cool we plumped for Cannon Fodder.

Originally released on the Amiga and later ported to the Megadrive, Cannon Fodder was an isometric war sim where you lead a small group of soldiers on various missions. Featuring what is still to this day probably the best theme song on any game the tagline “War has never been so much fun.” ruffled a few feathers and the developers were forced to redesign the packaging to remove a poppy from the cover. Even though they offered to donate some of the takings to the poppy appeal.

A full update of Cannon Fodder would really work we feel as long as the humour was left in tact and for that John Hare would have to oversee development.

Another World

Yet another Amiga classic makes an appearance on our list. This time Another World, a side scrolling 2D platformer that really transported the player to…. well yes, Another World.

Written by Eric Chahi and published by Delphine Software it featured state of the art graphics and new gameplay elements that have now become standard, Another World really stood out from the crowd. It used cut-scenes and cinematic effects that were inspired by the Dragons Lair game but done with much surer footing of a great original work.

Eric Chahi did write a sequel called Heart of The Alien but it only ever saw the light of day on the Mega CD so pretty much nobody played it.

Delphine did allow many people to think that Flashback was Another World 2 and it sort of was, as it stole many of the original ideas of its predecessor. Eric Chahi did write a direct sequel called Heart of The Alien but it only ever saw the light of day on the Mega CD so pretty much nobody played it.

An updated 3D version of this game would be ace!

Oddworld

Created by Oddworld Inhabitants the Oddworld series was an ambitious idea to create games around a series of characters inside a complete universe.

The series started off as a 2D platformer called Abe’s Odyssee and was followed up by Abe’s Exodus. Both games followed the exploits of Abe, a lovable character, as he tried to stop his fellow Mudokon slaves from being turned into food. The games featured an innovative idea in Gamespeak where you could select certain phrases to use to interact with other characters in the game. Both games were pure bliss.

When the series went 3D it left Abe behind and introduce Munch in Munch’s Odyssee. This is where the series started to falter. Having set the standard and creating such a brilliant character as ,Munch was just a poor substitute and sales of Munch’s Odyssee suffered as a direct result.

The final game in the series was Strangers Wrath and what a fine game it was again. a 3D shooter that had some of the coolest weapons ever seen. The game earned critical acclaim but failed to capture the public’s imagination.

Poor sales figures convinced Oddworld Inhabitants that there creations future lay elsewhere and they now look to turn the universe into films or comics or something.

But to be honest the series suffered badly when they left Abe behind and a reboot featuring this brilliant character with all the humour that the series was famous for could well revive the world even if it is odd!

Black

Just before the end of the Xbox Criterion released Black. An awesome shooter that went some way to proving the giant black box was being put out to pasture before its time.

Black was FPS and a masterpiece in how to blow shit up. The game has some of the most frequent and largest explosions ever seen. It is loud, fast and crazy.

Black was criticised for its lack of depth but for the time it ran it was a joy to behold and when you consider the platform it was on then you understand the skill in Criterions development.

A sequel has been muted but with the developers milking the cash cow that is Burnout for all it is worth we are yet to see a return for this most underrated of shooters.

There are many others – I am sure Moonhead and Eddie will have their own opinions and they will be on
below.

Ah, here were are again with another edition of Brentunes! I think it’s time we get right to the truth of the matter: I LOVE video games. I love them so much that I own some of their music on CD. Yeah – game soundtracks. Let’s roll.

Final Fantasy VIII – The Extreme (Black Mages Ver.) [PS1]

This is the one that instigated this particular post. I was looking up tour dates for Video Games Live, then YouTubing some of their past performances when I came across some live Black Mages stuff. Man, they rock it out. I own their first two CDs, so I hadn’t heard any other tracks of theirs. Until this one! I’m actually replaying FF VIII now, so it made this even better!

Final Fantasy X – Via Purifico (Piano Ver.) [PS2]

Okay, so technically this is NOT the original song, but from the FFX Piano Collection CD. It’s so beautiful! I listen to this track quite a bit at work to just generally keep calm around a bunch of idiots.

Final Fantasy Legend 2  – Save the World [Game Boy]

Final boss music doesn’t “work” for me unless it has a certain feel. I can’t describe it any better than “no second chances, if we fail now everyone we know will die.” That particular emotional connect with me happens in the first 10 seconds of this track. It’s from a friggin’ Game Boy, too! I mean, damn.

Lost Odyssey – Dark Saint [Xbox 360]

Dear Mistwalker – Please make another game that isn’t Blue Dragon-related. See how amazing Odyssey turned out? WANT MOAR!

Let’s end on an emotional note. If you’ve never played MGS4, you may want to play the ENTIRE DAMN SERIES so it’ll make sense. This song is the culmination of 20 years of suspense and cliffhangers for me. Literally – 20 years. Metal Gear came out when I was wee lil’ gamer.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – Love Theme [PS3]

There’s got to be a word for this punch-in-the-gut feeling this song gives me. It’s sad, but on a level I can’t really describe. This might be – and probably is – because I’m directly connecting it with the moment in the game where the song is played (arguably one of the greatest gaming moments ever). This track makes me think “we’re going to fail, things are going to get bad for those left behind, now they’re on their own.” It’s strange how I can’t connect music to emotions – I have to connect them to fictional events that I make in my head. Perhaps that’s due to how emotionally and structurally complex music can be. It can’t be easily simplified.

I just realized that Nobuo Uematsu was three of my choices. Must be good, right?

- Brent